Feeding mechanism for cutting and folding machines



' vOct. 6, 1931. I c. J. BECK 1,826,495

' FEEDING MECHANISM FOR- CUT'fING AND FOLDING MACHINES Original Filed July 27 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 6, 1931. BE K 1,826,495

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING MACHINES Original Filed July 27, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fzz eniar- (axks J 5 5 ijiarzzeys M9 c.' J. BECK Oct. 6, 1931.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CUTTING AND FOLDING MACHINES Original Filed July 27, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet s Ila/em (ans [590$ Patented- Oct. 6, 1931 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cums .1. max, orrnmmnnrm rmmsnvmm mamas nominal: ron currnre AND rommo Mame Original application fled T1117 27, 1925, Serial No. 48,842. Divided and thin application filed April 87 1889. Serial No. 858,526.

This invention relates to feeding mechanism for machines which are adapted to out and fold fabricsof the class of which bags of various descriptions are made, including '5 heavy burlap potato sacks and fine cheese cloth interlinings for sugar sacks.

The present application is a division of my co ending application Serial No. 46,342, filed uly 27 1925.

The object of the present invention is to provide a compact and eflicient mechanism which will be capable of accurately feedmg fabrics (if the bless noted to the cuttmg and folding mechanisms of the machine.

Referring to' the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevatlon of the general arrangement of the elements of which the machine is composed:

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the unit; and- Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 33, Fig. 2.

Fabric such as burlap, of which many commercial containers are made, is a very dim- 25 cult material to handle by machinery, due to its unreliable quality. It is usually packed in bales for shipment under aheavy hydraulic pressure which causes the folds to adhere to each other, causing considerable difiiculty '30 in feeding an automatic machine designed to operate upon it. I

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have 1llusv trated at z a bale of burlap, or other fabric of the same general character, the web 3 of 5 which is passing through a machine made in accordance with my invention, being cut into sheets a: and finally folded as at w and stacked for removal ,from the machine to be stitched or otherwise formed into bags, or otherwise convertedfor use. v

The web y in leaving the bale z is. passed under and between loosening bars 1 and 2 which may be supported in any suitable manner. The knife-like edges of the bars 1 and 2 separate any folds of the fabric that may adhere to the web 3/ as it passes into the machine.

From the straightening bars land 2 the web y passes over guide rolls or bars 3, 4 and 5, all of which tend to cause a resistance to the feedingpassage of the web. From the roll 5 the web passes under a roll 6 whosesurface is roughened by coating it with granulated material such as emery or the like suitably secured to the surface of the roll by cement or like substance.

From the rough roll 6 the'web asses to,and over a smooth roll 7, a floating ar or roll 8 bem interposed between the rolls 6 and 7 for t e purpose of maintaining firm contact beflween the web and the surfaces of said ro s. V

A power driven feed roll 9 en ages the web y, grip ing it between itself smooth roll and serves to pull the fabric from the bale and feed it to the cutting um I The cutting unit comprises primarily a fixed blade 10 and a revolving blade 11. Upon the speed at which the feed roll 9 travels depends the length of the sheet tobe out.

After cutting, the sheet a: dro s upon a conveyer 12 and is directed to t e folding unit, an upper belt 13 overlying and engagingthe conveyor 12 to assist in the delivery of the sheet to the folding unit.

The folding unit comprises a fixed jaw 14 and the a secured to a revolvin reel and a co-operating movable jaw 15 suita ly mounted in said reel. Also in the reel is an adjustable blade 16 whose function is to square the sides of the sheet a: with respect'to the jaw 14 before the jaw 15 actually contacts therewith, as will be more fully described hereinafter, to complete the folding operation.

In order to insure a positive grip of the fabric sheet a between the jaws 14 and 15, a second revolving reel or cylinder is mounted adjacent the folding reel and is provided with a pivoted creasing blade 18 which projects beyond the eriphery of the cylinder and functions to orce the sheet between the said jaws. .As the surfaces of the two reels repredetermined point of the revolution-the is so timed with the cutting mechanism as to jaw 15 is released from the jaw 14, permitting the folded sheet to fall on a stacker platform as at w.

It will be understood that the several units are power driven and timed in such a manner as to feed the desired length offabric to the cutting unit and at the proper time sever the sheet a; from the web 3 The'conveyer 12 receive the sheet and deliver itto the folding unit in such a manner as to permit the jaws 14 and 15 to grip the sheet at its centre in order that the sheet may be folded evenly.

Power is supplied-to the machine from a I suitable source (not shown) through a pinion 20 which meshes with a gear 21 from which a suitable train 22of interchangeable gears is driven. Meshing with the end' gear of the train of gears 22 is a gear 23, to which is secured a mitre gear 24 which,-meshing with a second mitre gea 25, drives a shaft 26, to the opposite end 0 which is secured a mitre gear 27 which-meshes with a mitre gear 28, secured to one end of the main driveshaft of the conveyer 12.

The gear 23 drives an intermediate gear 30 I which in turn drives a gear 31 secured to the shaft of the feed r0119. Y

The pinion 20 also drives a gear 32 which serves to rotate the revolving knife blade 11, and the gear 32 drives an intermediate gear 33 which in turn meshes with a gear 34 which functions to rotate the folding reel. Adjustably carried by the said folding reel and driven therewith is a second gear 35 whic meshes with a gear 36 by which the inserting blade 18 is rotated.

It will be'noted that the revolving knife blade 11 and the folding jaws 14.15 are geared in such relation as to receive rotary motion at equal speeds.

The feed roll 9 is constructed as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and comprises a spindle 40 journaled .in eccentric bushings 41, 41 which in turn are journaled in heads 42, 42 on brackets 43, 43 secured to the side frames 44, 44 of the machine proper. Each of the eccentric bushings 41 is provided "with an' arm 45, which are connected transversely at their outer ends by a bar 46. To one end of the bar 46 is secured one end of a spring 47 the oppositeend of which is secured to oneof the brackets43, the purpose being to keep the surfaces ofthe roll 9 always in firm contact with the surface of the roll 7 ,the fabric web 3 lying therebetween.

At one end of the spindle 40 is secured a collar 48. Adjacent the collar 48 and spline-d to the spindle 40 is a flanged sleeve 49 on which is mounted a rubber or other flexible.

tire 50. Adjacent the tire 50 and recessed to receive the end of the sleeve 49 is a disc 51. The elements 49, 50 and 51 comprise a section, of the feed roll 9, which is duplicated throughout the length of the spindle 40, filling collars 52 being interposed between the sections as shown in Fig. 3.

Adjacent the end of the spindle 40 opposite the collar 41, the said spmdle is threaded as at 53, to* receive an adjusting collar 54. The collar 54 is split and is provided with a lock screw 55.

Should a slight increase or' decrease in the diameter oflthe feed r0119 become necessary 1 to feed a slight amount, more or less, of the fabric to the cutting blades, the collar 54 if turned clockwise will compress the rubber tires 50 to such an extent that, due to the inner face and side walls being confined, the outer face of the tire will be expanded, thereby increasing the diameter and the periph-- oral speed of the feed roll'9.. A counterclockwise movement of the collar 54 will act in the reverse to that just described.

- Limit screws 56, 56 are provided on the levers 45, 45 and engage lugs 57 57 on the brackets 43, 43, to limit the inward movement of the feed roll 9 toward the .roll 7.

The rough roll 6 functions to maintain an even tension upon the web y throughout its entire 'width so that it will not sag at the spaces between the points where the tires'50 oflfl ize feed roll 9 engage the fabric and the ro An apron 60 is pivoted to the brackets 43, 43 at 61 61 for the purpose of guiding the web to and over the fixed knife blade 10, which is adjustably mounted in a frame 63, secured to the side frames 44 of the machine. A spring 62 tends to keep the apron in contact with the cutter frame 63 which main tains the lower edge to said apron just above the fixed knife blade 10.

I claim: Y

1. In a cutting and folding machine, a feeding unit comprising a tension roll having a roughened surface whereby the material passing through said feeding unit may be the web from the said source of supply.

3. In a cutting and folding machine, a

feeding unit comprising a roll having a fixed diameter, a variable diameter 'roll having a face composed of resilient material co-operating with the face of said fixed diameter roll to feed a web of material therebetween, means tending to move said rolls into contact with each other, and means for regulating the extent of said relative movement to prevent flattening of the resilient face of expandible roll against the face of the fixed diameter roll. 4. In a cutting and folding machine, a feeding unit comprising a roll having a fixed diameter, a roll having a variable diameter co-operating therewith to feed a web of material therebetween, said variable diameter roll comprising a shaft, a series of sleeves mounted on said shaft, a flange on one end of each sleeve, a disc mounted on said shaft at the opposite end of each sleeve and recessed to receive the said sleeve end, a series of resilient rings on said sleeves intermediate said flan es and said discs respectively, and means or compressing said assemblage in a direction longitudinally of the shaft to cause an expan- 1 sion of said rings radially of said shaft. 5. In a cutting and folding machine, means for feeding a Web of material into said machine, comprising a pair of spaced brackets,

a roll having a fixed diameter rotatably mounted in said brackets, a roll having a variable diameter co-operating with said fixed diameter roll, a pair of bushings rotatably mounted in said brackets and having eccentric bearings adapted to rotatably support said variable diameter roll, and means tending to rotate said bushings in said brackets 'to move the variable diameter roll toward the fixed 80 diameter roll. f

6. In a cutting and folding machine, means for feeding a 'web of -material into said machine, comprising a pair of spaced brackets, a roll having a fixed diameter rotatably I 85 mounted in said brackets, a roll having a variable diameter co-operating with said fixed diameter roll, a pair of bushings rotatably mounted in said brackets and having eccentric bearings adapted to rotatably sup ort said an variable diameter roll, arms on said 'ushings,

a bar connectin said arms for synchronous rotation of said bushings, and aspring tending to rotate said bushings to move the variablediameter roll toward the fixed diameter g 7. In a cutting and foldin machine, means for feeding a web of material into said machine, comprising a pair. of spaced'brackets, a roll having a fixed diameter rotatably mounted in said brackets, a roll having a variable diameter co-operating with said fixed diameter roll, a pair of bushings rotatably mounted in said brackets and having eccentric bearings adapted to rotatably support said variable di- ,ameter roll, arms on said bushings, a bar connecting said arms for synchronous rotation of said bushings, a spring tending to rotate said bushings to move the variable diameter roll toward the fixed diameter roll, and means on said. arms co-operating with means on said brackets for regulating the position of said variable diameter roll with respect to the fixed diameter roll. 1

CHARLES J. BECK. 

